Journal Reflections: Durban, Day 7

27 March 2009

This afternoon I spent my time with the interns going on rounds. It's really interesting to note that the doctors here operate more on our scope of practice: less task oriented and more critical thinking involved. It's hard on the floors because there isn't much that we can do to increase our skill sets. Perhaps one of the most frustrating parts of this rotation is that no one talks to the patients - they don't really listen to what they have to say.

Of course, this isn't true for everyone AND it goes against my first impression of conversation here, but it is astounding to me. One of the most rewarding things for me is to talk with the patients.

Maybe that's why we're here... To think! What an impact we can have on these patients' lives by just taking the time to listen to them!